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Parker and Milone reflect on strong first half

Parker and Milone reflect on strong first half

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Tommy Milone

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OAKLAND -- Though Jarrod Parker had a rough outing on Saturday in his last start before the All-Star break, it couldn't put much of a damper on the first half that the right-hander has had. Fellow rookie Tommy Milone, too, has been excellent so far in his first full season in the big leagues.

Since Parker was called up in late April, the two young starters have been a model of consistency for an A's rotation that has seen several others come and go, due to injuries or poor performance. In fact, they've been better than consistent.

Milone has been dominant in seven home starts, carrying a 5-1 record and a 1.03 ERA. While the lefty has had more struggles pitching on the road, he's shown improvement lately, which bodes well for himself and the A's going into the second half.

And Parker was performing even better than his cohort until he have up six runs on Saturday. In his four starts before that, the right-hander gave up one run or less, and he was just the second pitcher since 1900 to do so in 10 of his first 14 career starts.

Both pitchers said they were pleased with their first halves. Milone pointed to how he bounced back from a few difficult starts, while Parker wants to work on becoming more "complete" in the second half.

It could be tough for them to top the way their seasons and careers have started, and as the season gets deeper, fatigue could become a concern for the rookies. But to this point, Parker and Milone have been as good as anyone could have hoped.

"Based on what you saw in Spring Training and where they are right now, absolutely you've got to be happy with both those guys," A's manager Bob Melvin said on Friday.